Mobile DRM issues to cost Europe €3.5B this year

Analyst firm Frost & Sullivan estimates 80 percent of the content installed on phones has been illegally pirated, costing the industry an estimated €2.7 billion in 2006. Of course, estimates of sales lost to piracy are notoriously unreliable; surely many ringtone pirates would simply choose to live without ringtones rather than pay for them. Analysts estimate another €800 million is lost due to compatibility and interoperability issues with the DRM.

For more about DRM's hidden costs:
 - read this article in Mobile Phone News